Trustee, Trustee Area C — Poway Unified School District

In the past three years, I’ve helped advance many positive changes district-wide: a new, well-respected superintendent was hired; an entirely new cabinet has been assembled; and proper internal financial controls and organizational efficiencies have been implemented.

Yet, important issues require further attention: retaining and recruiting the best teachers and support staff; eliminating the structural budget deficit and reducing long-term debt (including the $1B bonds); introducing more classroom innovation and Career Technical Education opportunities; and increasing transparency and accountability in decision-making.

My top priority, however, is ensuring our children’s physical safety, and social and emotional wellness. That’s why I called for a community forum to discuss school safety; developed revisions to the District’s anti-bullying/digital citizenship/online safety policies; acquired new campus security cameras; and helped create the tip line 844-PUSD-TIP to promote a “See Something, Say Something” environment.

I believe a demand for charter schools is created when parents do not feel as though the school district to which their children are assigned is doing an adequate job educating their children and preparing their children to succeed in college and in a wide range of post-secondary options in order to work and live productively.

Fortunately, Poway Unified has been living up to and performing to parental expecations and there has not been a demand for charter schools in the district.

I believe PUSD's intra-district transfer policies are appropriate and working well.

I support implementing more restorative justice practices districtwide.

Edutopia.org describes restorative justice this way:

Restorative justice empowers students to resolve conflicts on their own and in small groups, and it's a growing practice at schools around the country. Essentially, the idea is to bring students together in peer-mediated small groups to talk, ask questions, and air their grievances.

For the growing number of districts using restorative justice, the programs have helped strengthen campus communities, prevent bullying, and reduce student conflicts. And the benefits are clear: early-adopting districts have seen drastic reductions in suspension and expulsion rates, and students say they are happier and feel safer.

In practice, these programs vary by district, but inclusion, bringing affected parties together, making amends, and reintegrating students into the classroom community are traditionally common pillars.